Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1887-08-24
Late Corn and It's Enemies,

Late Corn and It's Enemies.
The early bird catches the worm
also the late corn. That most bust
ness-lke and enthusiastically Ameri-
can of all our birds, the blackbird,
teaches thriftless farmers a lesson
once in q while. It Furnishes their un-
thrift by taking their late corn. Corn
which is planted in good season is
sufficiently advanced to be no longer g.
temptation to them at that period
when the ravenous demands OF their
young make them indefatigable in
their search for food. The intelligence
no attempt to pull up stalk which
has attained q certain growth, or
which has become firmly anchored
through the impaction OF the soil
around it by the rain. In other words,
the first planting is seldom taken by
the blackbird, unless it is an inexcus-
ably late planting or the weather is so
dry and backward that the weak,
spindling plant is easily pulled up.
And the safety of the plant is greatly
promoted-almost ineured-by CO.
pious, beating rain falling on it before
it appears above the ground.
But woe to the wretched farmer
whose seed was q failure, whose field
required to be largely or wholly re-
planted, and on whom-accumulation
of misfortunes, it never rains but it
pours." no timely showers have fallen
to pack the ground about his corn
hills! The blackbird marks him for
his prey-and not uniustly, in the
large economy of things. Hopping
from hill to hill with unerring certain
ty In it's discrimination between corn
and other vegetation, wasting no time
in scratching where there is nothing to
reward his labors, it pulls out whole
rods. The luckless farmer, irri.
tated and cursing his luck, prowl-
ing around the field with shot.
gun in quest of victims, won
de1ing at the failure of nightmare
spectres of cole clo'es" which he has
valnly posted about the premises
you may scare the Overcoming, SUI
perstitious crow, perhaps, but not the
business-like blackbird-fnds small
deep hole pecked or scratched at each
hill, the plants lying torn and scatter
ed about, wilted or dead, perhaps now
and then one with fragment OF root
clinging precariously to the soil, still
keeping green the plant which lies
prone along the earth-the kernels all
gone to fill the Unsuitable maws Of the
calloW blaokbirds which keep up an
unceasing chatter in the neighboring
walnut.
The chipmupk is another agency
which lends itself freely to the punish
ment of the Uardy corn-planter, espe-
cially if the ground keeps dry. But
the greatest Of all enemies to late corn
is frost in the fall.
On referring to my diary I find the
following sporadic entries:
1876, February "a, 'sfour and TWEEN
ty blackbirds;" 1879, March 7, black
birds; 1880, March 2, blackbirds;1SS1
February 20, swamp blackbirds;
March 5, blackbirds; 1882, March 2,
blackbirds and March peppers to-day.
That is to say, blackbi arrive in
this latitude washington County,,
about the time spring ploughing be-
gins. They will have their young
Matched out by the middle of May.
Corn ought to be up and have g.
strong root by that time. 1t ought
to be planted the last week in April.
The agricultural philosopher of the
western Reserve may reason finely
about the generation OF ammonia in
the soil by the oncomirg of the sum-
mer heat, and the inferential necessity
of waiting until that time, or there
before the seed is committed
20 the ground: but in Southern Ohio
the blackbird comes long before the
ammonia, and has to be carefully
looked out for.
The ammonia theory is well enough
to account for the good color the corn
begins to assume in June; it is proba-
bly, true, but I have this to say anent
thereof never yet knew good seed
corn put in the ground too early.
Poor seed corn may roo if planted the
third or fourth week in April, but
thoroughly good seed, especially yell
low corn, put into well-prepared
ground when the whippoorwills sing,
is as good as gold. Corn may come
up yellow and sickly, but if it comes
up that is all / ask of it. care
nothing whatever for frost. Frost
BIT the end of the season will do g.
hundred-fold more damage than it
will at the beginning. It isgetting root
the while, and the ammonia will give
it color when it comes. One year
1856 / think it was--we had biting
.rost in June when corn was knee
deep. 1t wilted in the sun and all
went down black. Most of us re-
planted out and out. One of my
neighbors gave all up in despair and
3owed buckwheat in his corn. When
ne got ready to harvest that buck
wheat the only way he could do was
10 wade in and cut two rows of corn,
,hen he could cut a swath of buck |
wheat Cor. Practical Farmer.
Quantity of Milk Required for Butter. |
How much milk is required to make
me pound OF butter depends upon so
many circumstances as to render it |
to estimate upon any GER
ain quantity as the proper proper
ion. No two breeds Of cattle possess |